Alcatel-Lucent and Airvana to develop an integrated IMS-femtocell solution for CDMA/EV-DO network operators

Airvana, Inc. and Alcatel-Lucent announced that the two companies will develop an integrated solution – incorporating IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and CDMA/EV-DO femtocell technology — to support more effective delivery of mobile voice and multimedia services inside homes and offices. This initiative will ensure that CDMA/EV-DO network operators are able to make use of femtocells to improve the in-building wireless experience for their subscribers, while ensuring that these new network elements work seamlessly with the broader mobile network.

Femtocells are small – about the size of a book – cellular access points that use a subscriber’s existing broadband connection to provide enhanced voice, video and data services, especially in the home, using existing mobile devices. Femtocells help operators meet the growing demand for mobile voice and data services by cost-effectively increasing network coverage and capacity, particularly in difficult-to-serve indoor environments.

Under a new development agreement, Airvana will enhance its femtocell offerings with new interfaces to enable smooth integration with Alcatel-Lucent’s IMS core. This agreement builds on demonstrations of combined, femto-based, in-building solutions by Alcatel-Lucent and Airvana at the CTIA Wireless 2008 trade show and exhibition in Las Vegas earlier this year.

The combined solution – which integrates IMS core network elements from Alcatel-Lucent with Airvana’s HubBub femtocell access point – can support seamless inter-working between the CDMA macro network and the IMS-supported femtocells, and will help minimize any impact on the existing network in terms of performance, complexity and the costs associated with managing the network.